Various surgical procedures are routinely carried out intravascularly or intraluminally. For example, in the treatment of vascular disease, such as arteriosclerosis, it is a common practice to access the artery and insert an instrument (e.g., a balloon or other type of catheter) to carry out a procedure within the artery. Such procedures usually involve the percutaneous puncture of the artery so that an insertion sheath may be placed in the artery and thereafter instruments (e.g., catheters) may pass through the sheath to an operative position within the artery. Intravascular and intraluminal procedures unavoidably present the problem of stopping the bleeding at the percutaneous puncture after the procedure has been completed and after the instruments (and any insertion sheaths used therewith) have been removed. Bleeding from puncture sites, particularly in the case of femoral arterial punctures, is typically stopped by utilizing vascular closure devices.
While there are a variety of prior art devices and techniques for closing such punctures, one method includes temporarily sealing the tissue puncture intravascularly using an inflation balloon. A sealing material may be delivered to an outer surface of the tissue to seal the tissue puncture while maintaining the temporary seal from the balloon. Removing the collapsed balloon through the sealing material may leave a channel through the sealing material that poses a potential lack of hemostasis. The channel through the sealing material may be closed by depositing a detachable tip in the tract. Opportunities exist for improvements in detachable tip constructions and methods of placement.